


The Dragon of Vere

by friedenskind



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons, Fairy Tale Elements, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 06:51:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13118355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friedenskind/pseuds/friedenskind
Summary: Damen is a knight of some experience. When he receives a letter from the Golden Knight Auguste himself asking him to slay the Dragon of Vere, he is determined to excel at this quest. But when he arrives in Vere, nothing is as it seems, especially not the Mayor's nephew, Laurent...Erasmus is a knave. He knows it's his duty to serve a knight someday, but that doesn't keep him from wishing he can spend forever with Kallias, a fellow knave. Then he gets assigned to serve Ser Damen, leading him far away from his love. All hope seems lost, for even if he can find his way back it may already be too late.





	The Dragon of Vere

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Captive Prince Secret Santa 2017 event for participant #39
> 
> No big archive warnings apply, but there are mentions of non-con/rape.

“He’s here."

Kallias was pale as he turned his back to the window and closed the curtains as if not seeing what was approaching could somehow make it go away.

Erasmus fisted the sheets on which he sat, the little nest they had built in front of the fire. “But… it’s too early,” he said. “He wasn’t supposed to arrive until next week!”

They both knew what this meant.

Their last days together had been cut short. Roughly, without warning, ruining the plans they had made, had saved for the last few hours.

Kallias crossed the room and sat back on the furs, his shoulder touching Erasmus’s. They flinched when the sound of a horn came from outside again, the same sound that had alerted them earlier. They should be preparing for his arrival now, prepare themselves and the fort, but Erasmus just turned and leaned back into Kallias’s arms. “Don’t forget me while I’m gone.”

“I won’t.” The arms tightened. “I couldn’t. I’ll wait for your return.”

“I will return. I will.” A pause. “I wish…”

“I know.” And then, “Me too.”

 

 

***

 

 

Damen had been a knight for years, and he loved every minute of it. The fighting and training came easily to him and helping people made him feel _good_ , be it because he had slain the band of robbers terrorizing an important trading route, killing a pack of wolves decimating the local herds of livestock, assisting in rebuilding a bridge or sharing his meal with a family he met while travelling. Of course he also enjoyed the admiring glances, the way children looked up to him and followed him through the villages, asking for stories of his travels, the pats on the back he got from some people his age and swooning sighs echoing his way from others.

Damen had been a knight for years and he had experience. He was well known and well liked and successful, which was why he had been asked to slay the Dragon of Vere.

Everyone had heard of the Dragon. It lived close by the village of Vere and had been there for… well, no-one knew exactly how long, but probably for longer than Damen had been a knight. It had only started to cause troubles in recent years, when the Mayor of Vere had finally acknowledged that he couldn’t handle it on his own and had requested help.

Of course, everyone had assumed it would be Auguste, the Golden Knight, who would take care of Vere’s dragon problem. After all, he was not only the most renowned knight there was, but he also hailed from Vere and surely would like to defend his hometown himself.

But golden Auguste had, with much chagrin, deferred the task. He himself was too busy looking for his father’s killer. And Auguste himself had sent a letter to Damen, asking him to take care of Vere in his stead and deal with the dragon. He had written that he trusted Damen, had been very impressed by him whenever they had met, and was absolutely convinced that he was more than competent for the task.

Damen had glowed with pride. To be praised like that by the Golden Knight himself? It was the greatest honour. Damen was determined to do well, to excel and to do the absolute best for Vere.

Which was why before riding north to the village he first paid a visit to the Gardens of Nereus (which, really, looked more like a fort than a garden.)

The Gardens were famous for the excellent knaves they trained and they didn’t just give their graduates to anyone. But Damen had Auguste’s letter, and when he had sent them a copy along with a request, they had accepted him without hesitation (the generous donation Damen had asked his father to make hadn’t hurt either.)

He was greeted at the gates with smiles and bows, his horse and coat were taken from him with gentle but firm insistence, and he was led inside for a small feast in his honor. After that, he was introduced to his knave.

“What’s your name?” he asked the boy - young man, really, but his dark blond hair was tousled so endearingly.

“Erasmus,” Erasmus said. He was standing straight, posture perfect, but his eyes wouldn’t hold Damen’s gaze. Maybe he was just nervous, Damen mused. After all, this would be his first journey past the Garden’s walls.

He tried to chat with the knave, get to know more about him, and while the boy was pleasant and polite the conversation led to nothing. Damen refused to be disappointed. They would grow to know each other better in time.

He retreated to his chambers in a good mood, pleased to have his knave sleeping in the cot at the foot of his bed and looking forward to besting the beast of Vere.

 

 

***

 

 

Erasmus got up early, long before the sun rose and long before the other knaves - or instructors - would raise from their cots. The knight was snoring in his plush bed and Erasmus had no troubles sneaking from the room. He rushed through the corridors quietly and slipped through a familiar door. Only once inside, the lock closing softly behind him, he relaxed.

Kallias was still in bed, and Erasmus smiled as he walked towards him, shedding his clothes before sliding under the sheets,sticking his cold feet between Kallias’s pleasantly warm calves.

Kallias made a sleepy noise and shifted in surprise but calmed when Erasmus pressed his lips to the other’s forehead. "Just me,” he whispered.

Kallias stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then turned around so they were face to face. His smile faded. “How is he?”

Erasmus sighed. “He’s nice, I guess. A good man. Very honest.”

Kallias was biting his lips nervously. “Did he…” His voice was so quiet Erasmus could barely hear it, but that didn’t keep him from blushing.

“No. I didn’t offer, but he also… No. He didn’t.”

Kallias relaxed and their arms folded around each other, bodies molding together, like the most natural thing in the world. Neither of them looked at the curtains barely covering the window. Neither of them wanted to count down the minutes they had left.

 

 

***

 

 

Just a few hours after the sun had risen they were on the road.

Damen was optimistic and looking forward to their journey together, but he couldn’t deny there was a certain gloom surrounding his knave like a heavy blanket ever since they had left the Gardens.

“You will get used to travelling quickly. It’s fun,” Damen tried to cheer him up, but Erasmus had just smiled at him and said, “Yes, Ser,” before turning back to face the road with a deep sigh.

It was fine, Damen told himself. A man was allowed to be homesick, especially one who had never left home before.

 

 

***

 

 

The ride to Vere only took a few weeks, and knave and knight had fallen into an efficient routine by then. While Damen wouldn’t call them friends, they still had some pleasant conversations and slowly got accustomed to each other. He found Erasmus to be kind and optimistic, a little shy, if not timid. He often caught him staring longingly into the distance, but didn’t feel like it was his place to ask about it.

One thing he had noticed early on was that whenever they slept at an inn or tavern, Erasmus got oddly nervous, never resting in one place for too long, staying up late and busying himself with tasks that didn’t need doing, or didn’t need doing twice over again. So he had taken to sleeping on the road by campfire, wherever they currently were, and while Erasmus with his just lightly muscled limbs and pampered skin grew cold quickly and often shivered, he seemed indefinitely more comfortable around a fire than in a closed room. It was peculiar, but Damen decided not to comment and simply accepted it. A man was allowed to have his quirks. (And Damen made sure to buy a few extra blankets.)

 

 

***

 

 

The Mayor greeted them with a big smile. “Ser Damianos, welcome to Vere,” he said with a slight bow of his head. Damen returned the gesture of respect, surprised and pleased that the Mayor already knew his name. Auguste must have sent a letter ahead announcing his arrival, though how it had reached Vere so fast after Damen sending back his confirmation he didn't know. 

“Follow me, Ser Damianos,” the Mayor said. “And I will tell you all about the beast terrorizing my beautiful town over dinner.”

They were led through the pretty town and entered the big building adjacent to the town hall, where the Mayor lived. The rooms were spacious and lavishly decorated. As they entered the dining hall Damen’s eyes were torn away from the decorations and furniture in favour of taking in the beautiful man who was waiting for them at the dining table.

He stood gracefully to greet them with a stiff nod, but even the cold way he mustered Damen didn’t distract from his lovely features. His pale hair was carefully styled in a way that looked casual and Damen wanted to ruin the deliberate fall of every strand until it was tousled. He wanted to bring a rosy flush over the man’s sharp cheekbones, a slack fall to his jaw, and a hooded quality to the icy stare of those blue, blue eyes.

“This is my nephew, Laurent,” the Mayor introduced. Before he could continue, Damen stepped forward and bowed.

“I am Ser Damianos. Your brother personally asked me to aide you in this difficult time, and I assure you I will take care of the dragon terrorizing Vere.”

He had extended his hand, having hoped to breathe a kiss on the other’s knuckled, but his palm remained empty. As he straightened Laurent’s gaze was as neutral as ever as he looked Damen up and down before he directed it to the Mayor. “Uncle, I am not hungry. May I be excused from dinner?”

Damen didn’t hear the Mayor’s agreement, too stunned by the swift rejection. Laurent didn’t spare him a look as he left the room, and Damen stared at the door through which he vanished.

“It’s not personal,” the Mayor said and patted him on the shoulder. “He was hoping his brother would come to help with our problem. He misses him dearly.”

“Of course.” Damen cleared his throat and took place at the table, and a surprising amount of servants entered the room to bring dinner. “Now please, tell me everything about the dragon.”

 

 

***

 

 

Finding the dragon, as it turned out, was the hard part.

They had been riding through the hills and forests and fields surrounding the town of Vere for days now and Erasmus was growing tired of the same familiar scenery over and over. At least before on their travels he’d had unknown sights to admire, but now he was just bored.

He yawned for the fifth time in as many minutes and Ser Damen threw an amused glance into his direction, causing Erasmus to blush and straighten his posture. “Maybe we should go back and look between the hills?” he suggested half-heartedly. “Maybe we’ll find the dragon’s dwellings this time.”

“I wish I shared your hopes, however vague,” the knight said and sighed. “But we both know every tree and rock around the village now, and if a dragon was hiding here, we would have found it.”

The way he said it made Erasmus frown. “You do not think it’s here at all?”

Ser Damen nodded. “Dragons can fly. Its hoard must be much farther from here than we anticipated. Due to the frequency of its attacks I assumed it would nest close by, but to go unseen for so long…”

“It knew you were coming.”

“It knew we were coming, yes.” Ser Damen’s voice was grim. “It knows we are a threat. The question is just… how did it know.”

“You don’t think someone warned it?!”

A snort. “Unlikely. The villagers wouldn’t warn the very creature pestering them. Come on, let’s search for a place to make camp. It’s getting dark.”

Erasmus nodded, but his knight’s conviction to the last question had surprised him. Erasmus had spent the night in the Mayor’s house in the servants’ quarters, who were all very curious about Ser Damen’s arrival. Apparently nobody had known a knight was to come, and some had even seem surprised when Erasmus told them Ser Damen was here to take care of their dragon problem.

Furthermore, when they had walked around town the day after that to talk to the people affected by the dragon’s attacks, Erasmus hadn’t found Vere to look like a place terrorized by a fearsome creature. People were relaxed and going about their business as everywhere else, shepherds and farmers didn’t seem particularly scared for their livestock, and Erasmus had seen several children play in the streets and fields.

It didn’t add up with the stories of horror the Mayor’s guard had told Ser Damen about their peers getting eaten, livestock vanishing, or the destroyed barns they had seen.

 

 

***

 

 

It rained overnight, so the wagon stuck in the mud in the middle of the road wasn’t a surprise in itself. What was a surprise was that they were driving in the middle of nowhere, on a road that lead neither to nor from Vere, the closest town by far.

The wagon was closed, its contents unknown, and Erasmus didn’t like the wariness in the men’s eyes as he followed Ser Damen towards them.

“Ho, dear travellers,”  Ser Damen said, giving them his usual winning smile that was so genuine people usually trusted him on instinct. These men didn’t. “You seem to be in predicament. May I help?”

It was a small group on first glance, though Erasmus couldn’t tell who many of the men there were exactly, how many were still in the wagon or around it. Only two of them stepped forward to face the knight, one tall and one smaller but with broader shoulders. They were not dressed like farmers.

“We are doing quite fine, Ser,” the smaller one said. His hands sat loosely at his sides and Erasmus was surprised that he didn’t wear a sword belt. He carried himself like he should.

“Are you sure? Another pair of hands wouldn’t go amiss.” Ser Damen swung himself off his horse and Erasmus fumbled to catch the reins thrown in his direction, too distracted by the way the men around them tensed.

Ser Damen just strode to the wagon, not minding that his feet sunk deep into the mud that splashed up to his thighs and hips, and he gripped the dirty underside of the cart.  
“You and you, come here and push. Someone go to the wheels and help them find grip. Make the horses pull.”   
To Erasmus’s surprise the men did as he said. They exchanged glances but nobody said anything when the insides of the wagon rattled like metal on metal. Ser Damen just pushed and coordinated the effort.

A while later the wagon was free. Erasmus handed Ser Damen a handkerchief to clean his dirty hands and face and possibly wipe some of the worst splashes of mud off his armor. Erasmus knew what his task would be this evening.

“You know,” Ser Damen said after he sat back up on his horse. “Vere is that way.” He pointed.

The man with the broad shoulders stared at him. Then he slowly raised his hand and cuffed his taller companion on the back of the head. “I told you you got the wrong route, Orlant.”

“Ow,” Orlant said unconvincingly and Erasmus thought he was hiding a grin.

 

 

***

 

 

When they finally met the dragon it wasn’t because they found it - it was because it found them.

They had just left a forest behind them when their horses grew restless, ears swivelling and heads tugging at the reins, then a shadow blocked out the sun, too big to be a bird and too fast to be a cloud.

It was huge, its wingspan twice the size of a barn and had a long and winding tail, shimmering scales and piercing eyes. It landed right in their paths and Erasmus’s horse gave a shrieking neigh, so Damen grabbed its reins before his knave would lose control.

The dragon lowered its huge head and Damen first saw the rows of teeth the size of his forearm, then the calculating look as the slit pupils focussed on him… just to slide further and gaze at the horses.

Damen readied himself to swing off the saddle and make the horses run away before they could get eaten when both of the animals suddenly calmed. They stopped their dancing and relaxed and when Damen, startled, released the reins of Erasmus’s mare she lowered her head and began to graze with no further care towards the dragon right in front of them.

“So this is the mighty knight tasked with my demise,” said the dragon after it had settled in front of them, body arranged so it lay half around them and the pose… Damen couldn’t think of a word to describe it other than ‘lounging’.

He had never spend much thought on the facial expressions of a dragon, but he was pretty sure he had never imagined them able to look so dismissive.

“Pathetic. You know, I expected they’d send someone smart, someone capable, but you haven’t even been able to find me.” The dragon flicked its tail. “So I’ve come to you. Quite gracious of me, isn’t it?”

Damen thought himself quite a capable knight. He was good at it, he knew how to slay monsters, how to help people, but nothing had prepared him for this.

“You call yourself gracious, yet you are the very beast Vere talks of in terror,” Damen said, sitting up straight in his saddle. Belatedly, he unsheathed his sword.

The dragon tsk’ed.

“Oh please, put that stick away. It won’t do me much harm.”

“I have come to slay you!” Damen announced and nudged his horse forward. Or at least he tried. His horse didn’t move, barely even flicked an ear, then shifted its weight to rest one hoof on its toe.

Damen refused to be cowed and swung himself to the ground, charging the dragon on foot. He crossed about half the distance between them when suddenly his feet were swept away from under him and he fell flat on his arse, blinking up at the sky.

“Are you quite done?” the dragon asked.

Damen stood and charged again. This time he saw the end of the tail coming and jumped over it. A few seconds later it changed directions and he barely had time to catch himself as he fell again.

“Be my guest, I can keep this up all day,” said the dragon and _yawned_.

Damen was furious but it was obvious that this approach was getting him nowhere.

He stood and barely noticed when Erasmus rushed towards him, eyes wide in fear of the dragon but still determined to do his duty. Damen was proud of him.

“Ser, are you alright?” the knave whispered and looked immensely relieved when Damen nodded. “The horses… they won’t move!”

Damen looked back over his shoulder where the mare was rolling blissfully in the grass. Erasmus, ever mindful, must have managed to unsaddled her in time.

“Something strange is going on,” he said and sheathed his sword. “Stay back where the beast can’t reach you. I will handle it.”  
“But Ser, how are you going to..”

“I’ll figure something out. For now, it doesn’t seem to want to eat us, so I guess I will just… talk to it.”

The dragon spoke up again, voice mocking, “Yes, talk to the big, fearsome, dangerous dragon while your slave cowers and trembles in the background where it’s safe so he can lick your wounds for you later. Or your cock.”

Damen whipped around in shock and outrage. “Slave?! Erasmus is my knave, not a-”

“Oh really? Don’t bother repeating whatever justification you’ve come up with for my sake. I know all of them already.”  
Damen could swear the dragon was sneering. Before he could say anything, the beast continued.

“He’s helping you? A knight who can’t care for his horse and gear isn’t worthy of the title. He helps you train? Why, how could a person outside of knighthood ever compare to a Ser’s skill, much less help him train? Who are you kidding?” Damen just gaped at him. “Knaves have one purpose and one purpose only - warming a knight’s bed. Sucking his cock. Taking a beating if the almighty Ser needs to let off steam,” the dragon spat. It was still laying on its side, but its tail twitched and twirled in the air in agitation.

“Do you think it’s a coincidence that the profession is called ‘knave’? A sl _ave_ for a _kn_ ight, nothing else. Why do you think your little companion always gets nervous when it’s time to retire for the night? You must have noticed by now, I’ve seen it and I’ve only watched you for a few days now.”

Damen stared. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Then he turned around and looked at Erasmus, who jumped when he realized Damen was looking at him and wouldn’t meet his gaze. Damen felt sick.

“What,” he forced himself to say. “Did they tell you your duties were?”

Erasmus squirmed, staring at the ground. “Whatever Ser demands,” he whispered.

The underlying meaning was clear.

Damen didn’t know what to say.

“Have you never wondered,” the dragon’s voice came softly from behind him. Its presence didn’t seem all that pressing now. “Why it’s only the bad knights who make use of their knave privilege?”

“Only good knights get knaves.”

“Only the ones who are good at hitting things, you mean. At helping, I bet you would say. No, I mean the ones who not only are good at killing, I mean the ones who _enjoy_ killing. You idolize Auguste, do you not?” It didn’t wait for an answer. “He’s the best knight there is, I’m sure you would agree. Have you ever heard of him having a knave?”

Of course not. Damen had always assumed it was a statement of honor, of self-sufficiency, and he guessed that was still true - he had just never understood what it _meant_.

Damen shook his head. As shaken as he was, there were more important things to consider right now.

Like the dragon right behind him.

 

 

***

 

 

“You,” Damen said and drew his sword again. The dragon didn’t even twitch. “You are terrorizing the village of Vere, and I will make you stop!”

“Terrorizing? But of course. What else would I be doing?” The dragon sounded dismissive. “Tell me, how am I terrorizing Vere? I can’t seem to remember right now.”

The indifference angered Damen and he advanced several steps.  
“You destroy buildings! You ate people, threatened to eat more! Livestock went missing because you scattered them across the land!” The dragon didn’t seem impressed, so Damen added, “The villagers are terrified! That’s why they sent for me.”

“Oh, they are terrified!” The sound the dragon made almost sounded like a laugh. “Are they really? They told you that? Or did you ask them?”

Damen hadn’t. He decided that maybe it wasn’t wise to further approach the beast.

“Did you talk to them at all? Or did you only talk to the dear Mayor and his goons?”

“The Mayor contacted me and informed me of the situation-”

“Did he really inform you? Hm, I wonder… did he tell you about the bandits that began to roam the woods and streets around Vere after the Mayor reduced patrols, how trade ceased and farmers living outside the village got robbed? I suspect he did not. After all, the bandits are gone now. No doubt because they are _terrified_ of me.” The dragon shifted in a lazy stretch. “Did the Mayor mention his guard? There used to be a city watch keeping order in Vere and patrolling the streets, mostly independent of our leaders. The Mayor disbanded them and hired a personal guard of mercenaries instead. They are not liked well in the city… and it's no wonder, because now they are the ones destroying order instead of keeping it. Why, just last month one of them violated the baker’s apprentice. You wonder how I know? The man told me himself when I used his helmet as a toothpick before eating him whole. Dearly missed, that man.

You know what the guard also does? They collect taxes. And instead of bringing them all to the Mayor, they keep a part for themselves - a part that seemed to never be missing from the books - and hid it in a barn at the edge of the village… I only noticed after I decided to burn it down for fun and saw gold pouring out between the cracking wood.”

The dragon moved, standing in a fluid motion and Damen jumped, taking a stance.

“Don't embarrass yourself,” the dragon tsk’ed. “It's getting late and I'm getting tired of your presence. Goodbye, Ser Knight.” Before the dragon flew away it turned to Erasmus, “I wish you sweet dreams, no-slave. I believe you can let your guard down tonight.”

Then its mighty wings extended to their full width, flapped once, twice before the mighty hind legs propelled the huge body into the air, and the dragon quickly vanished in the darkening sky.

For a long while, neither of them spoke.

Damen sheathed his sword and went back to his horse while Erasmus tacked his own back up. Whatever spell the horses had been under, it was gone now and they acted like normal, moved when nudged and followed both verbal and physical orders.

They remained quiet as they rode through the forest, back towards the town until they sat up their camp for the night.

Only when they sat at the fire, Damen on one side and Erasmus on the other, something Damen had never questioned before, he broke the silence. “What the dragon said…” he had to clear his throat to continue. “I didn't realize… did you really think it was expected of you?”

Erasmus looked up at him before quickly hiding behind his curls that glinted golden in the light of the fire. “We were prepared for it,” he responded quietly.

Damen swallowed. “I want you to know,” he said slowly. “That I would never expect something like that from you. Not if you didn't want it yourself.”

Erasmus seemed to tense and relax at the same time, but his relief was still obvious. “Thank you, Ser.”

That he felt the need to thank him made Damen feel queasy.

“I-it’s not that you're not attractive, Ser,” Erasmus added hastily. “It’s just… there’s someone else.”

Damen perked up. Talking about Erasmus’s sweetheart was infinitely more comfortable than their previous conversation and if it made the knave - he couldn’t unhear the slave comparison the dragon had made - open up to him some more, all the better.

He made an encouraging noise.

Erasmus seemed hesitant at first but as he kept talking his voice got firmer and his eyes softened. “His name is Kallias. He's wonderful and talented and the most beautiful man I've ever seen. He's so kind and brave and always helped me during training when I couldn't get something right. The others were often jealous of him but he never had an ill word for anyone, even if he knew they talked bad about him behind his back.”

The way he was obviously smitten with his Kallias was endearing and Damen couldn't help but smile. But there was one thing becoming increasingly obvious as he talked… “Is Kallias also a knave?”

Erasmus bit his lip. “Yes, he is.”

“I don't know much about these things, obviously, but…is it allowed for you two…?”

He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to.

Erasmus didn't answer immediately.

“No. It's forbidden.”

They didn't talk much for the rest of the night.

 

 

***

 

 

Back in Vere Damen talked to the people.

The dragon, they all agreed, wasn’t terrifying at all. There had always been dragons in Vere, records showed them as allies, even protectors rather than monsters or tyrants.

In the evening Damen stood on the balcony of the Mayor's house, overlooking the town square. In his hands he held the letter he had received weeks ago - a letter from his idol, who asked him to slay a beast terrorizing his hometown. Something was very wrong here.

The door leading inside creaked and Damen steeled himself. He did not know what he should say to the Mayor, not when his thoughts were still so scattered, but the man behind him wasn't the Mayor.

It was his nephew.

Laurent had obviously not expected him and halted in the doorway, his face showing mild surprise for a second before all expression drained from the beautiful features, an icy wall building between them in record speed.

Damen bowed to him rather than watching the lovely face stopping all interaction before it had even begun.

“Good evening,” he said politely and took a step to the side. “Please, join me. I was about to leave.”

Without waiting for a reaction he turned back to watch the sun set in the distance behind the town.

For a moment Laurent didn’t move and Damen was sure he would leave, but then clothing rustled and Laurent stepped beside him, his fingers laid carefully on the railing of the balcony. He wasn't leaning relaxed against it, just put his hands there - and it were very fine hands with slim and agile fingers, a delicate wrist lined by purple-blue veins and gold dusted hairs covering the back. His back was straight, posture perfect.

Damen tore his gaze away and pushed himself from the railing. He should leave.

“How is your hunt for the beast going? Any luck?” Laurent broke the silence to Damen’s surprise and he paused his retreat.

“We encountered the dragon,” he said.

“And? Did you slay it?”

The question, asked in an acid tone, made Damen frown. “No, I didn't slay it. I planned to, but…”

“But what? Don't tell me a mighty knight such as yourself couldn't fulfill his task. You must be very good at killing things.”

Damen’s frown deepened.”I talked to it.”

“How did that go?”

Damen just shook his head and looked at the letter in his hands. Suddenly he had an idea.

He thrust the letter at Laurent, who jerked back.

“I got this letter weeks ago. It's from your brother, asking me to come here and slay the dragon.”

Laurent’s nostrils flared. “My brother would never-"

“But he did. According to the letter, he specifically requested my help. This letter is what gave me the prestige to get a…” he paused. “To get me Erasmus as companion.”

Laurent gazed at him sharply, then his blue eyes lowered to read the letter. He snorted. “This was not written by my brother. It's not his handwriting.”

Damen’s gut clenched. “His handwriting could have changed--”

“Oh please,” Laurent spat. “I know the way my brother writes a letter. He wouldn't use phrases like this,” he pointed at passages on the paper. “Or this. It’s is clearly not his style. Besides, he wouldn't ever do this. There is no ‘dragon problem’ in Vere.” His eyes lifted. “Even you must be suspecting this by now.”

“Dragon problem or no,” Damen said slowly and and carefully kept his voice quiet. “Someone wants it gone.”

 

 

***

 

 

This time they found the dragon faster.

Erasmus saw it first, pointing skywards where it flew between the dark clouds of the rainy day.

Damen spurred his horse into a gallop, following the moving shadow of the massive creature that was gliding through the air effortlessly above them.  
“Hey!” he shouted, waving his arm. “Hey, dragon!”

For a few seconds it seemed like the dragon hadn’t heard him, but then it slowly circled around and closed in on them.

Suddenly drawing its attention didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore. Damen stood his ground.

The dragon landed in front of him, half a field away, and eyed him warily. “I do not have time for your childish games today, knight,” it snorted.

Damen remained solemn. “Someone wants to kill you.”

The dragon stared, pointedly looking Damen up and then down. “I know.”

“I don’t mean me,” Damen said impatiently. “I’ve talked to the people of Vere, and it’s obvious they don’t mind you. I realize I should have done that before, and I apologize for my carelessness. But this is serious! Someone wants you gone. Someone who doesn’t care that you are actually doing good for this town!”

A pause. Then, “I know that, too.”

The dragon turned to leave, lifting its wings and flexing its hind legs.

“Wait!” Damen urged his horse forward - this time it moved willingly, not keen on advancing on the beast but following Damen’s orders. “Don’t go! I want to help.”

“Help?” The dragon was incredulous. “A few days ago you talked about slaying me. Now you want to prevent the same?”

“I do. Auguste told me to take care of Vere, of the people and I will.”

“Auguste didn’t-” The dragon snapped its mighty jaws shut with a echoing clack. “Oh did he?” he added with false calm.

“It’s what we would want me to do.”

Again the dragon stared, blue eyes piercing, then it shifted. “It doesn't matter. I do not have time for this.”

“But I-" This time the dragon didn't listen to Damen’s protests but jumped into the air, his wings creating a strong draft that made Damen’s horse throw its head. He watched in frustration as the huge beast flew away, getting smaller in the distance.

“Ser?” Erasmus asked tentatively behind him, having remained further back during the conversation.

“Come,” Damen said, already urging his horse into a canter, leaving Erasmus scrambling to follow. “We have to follow it.”

“But Ser, the dragon can fly and we are only on horseback!”

“No matter. We will follow it, it has to land eventually,” Damen shouted, never looking away from the small spot against the gray clouds.

 

 

***

 

 

It was pure luck that it worked. Had the dragon been faster, had flown further or if its destination had been farther away, Damen would have lost it. As it was, several minutes later he saw the dragon circle to the ground again, and with new vigor he sped up to reach it faster.

Through trees, hills and terrain he couldn’t see where the dragon had landed, but he could hear it long before he laid eyes on it again. The roar made his blood freeze and for a moment he doubted his plan. But then he heard something else - men shouting, the sounds of metal clashing… the song of battle.

It didn’t take long to reach it.

There was a small house next to a barn, probably belonging to a lumberjack or hunter and their family, but the men in front of the buildings were clearly not farmers.

One group Damen could easily identify - they wore the colours of the Mayor of Vere, the personal guard he had hired. They wore full armour with weapons drawn and while they were not fancy or in perfect formation it was clear they were one unit.

Their opponents seemed less organised, in mix-matched armour, no discernible colours and a wide variety of weapons ranging from swords and shields to bow and arrows, and Damen even saw a halberd.  Only on second glance he realized that he recognized these men too - days ago he had helped them free their cart from the mud. Once he remembered that it was easy to spot their broad-shouldered leader, who was not standing at their front but next to the dragon, who was clearly on the side of the mix-matched bunch of men.

The skirmish he had heard earlier seemed to have been interrupted by the dragon’s arrival. Damen had thought the dragon terrifying before, lounging before him simply because of its beastly appearance, but now with bared teeth, raised spikes and muscled tensed to pounce even he felt the shudders of fear the sight evoked.

Its bright eyes flicked over to Damen but otherwise ignored him, just like the two groups of men facing off. “You’ve chosen the wrong farm to bully this time,” the dragon hissed.

Another man stepped forward - Damen remembered him as the head of the Mayor’s guard, big and stocky with a broken nose. “Fuck off, beast,” he spat, gesturing sloppily with his sword. “We’re here for taxes. That’s legal.”

Only then Damen noticed the fearful faces hiding behind the windows of the house - presumably the family living there.

“We both know nothing about your taxes is fair,” the dragon growled. “And neither is your so-called punishment for being unable to pay up. Leave, now, if you know what’s good for you.”

The big man just laughed, then gave his men a sign - and they attacked.

The two groups clashed brutally.

A dragon seemed like a big advantage to have in a fight, but Damen quickly realized that that was only partially true. The dragon was huge, but it was not a clean battle - friend and foe were mixed together without a clear front, so the dragon had to be careful not to hurt the men fighting on his own side.

The solution would have been to take off, but the Mayor’s guard seemed to realize that too, and did their best to keep the dragon on the ground, slashing at its back legs when it tried to balance, not giving it room to spread its wings, engaging the other men in close range to the beast.

Still, the battle wasn’t even. Despite their mismatched appearance, the dragon’s group was gaining the upper hand. Damen, who had jumped into the fray to help, mostly deflecting rather than attacking, noticed that the way they fought wasn’t that of random mercenaries like many of the Mayor’s guard. Instead, the dragon’s men were well-trained and disciplined, and many of them obviously talented.

But the Mayor’s guard refused to give up. Their leader gave another signal and several of the mercenaries stepped back and, to Damen’s surprise, pulled out slingshots. They had to be prepared for this, because they took big stones from pouches at their sides, and shot them at the dragon’s head. Many of them missed, but several still hit their mark.

It growled and roared angrily, shaking it head and baring huge teeth, but it couldn’t jump forward to get to the stone throwers without risking trampling his own men.

Then it made an almost yelping sound, and Damen realized a stone had hit its eye. That was when the big leader rushed forward and stabbed his broadsword deeply into the dragon’s shoulder. This time it roared in pain.

Without thinking, Damen was in front of the dragon too and took down the attacker who was grinning in triumph. As the man crumbled, blood spraying from a wound in his gut, Damen saw the broad-shouldered man from the wagon look at him for a long moment before he turned back to fight the Mayor’s men.

Who, after the death of their leader, scattered and soon retreated. The dragon’s men were victorious.

Damen wiped his sword on a corpse and just when he wanted to raise his voice he heard the flap of wings and a strong gust hit him.

“Wait!” Damen called after the dragon as it took off, frustrated when it didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He ran back to his horse, mounting to follow the beast, but someone stepped in his way. It was the broad-shouldered man who seemed to lead the group who fought at the dragon’s side.

“If you think we’re going to let you ride after him to harm him you’re wrong,” he said matter of factly. Behind him, the other men, wounded or no, closed ranks to keep Damen from leaving.

“That’s not--” Damen began. “I’m not trying to harm him."

“Are you not the knight tasked with slaying the dragon of Vere?”

“My task was to take care of the dragon problem in Vere. Since I’ve arrived, it’s become increasingly obvious that Vere doesn’t have a dragon problem. But there is someone in Vere who wants it gone. Look, I want to help.”

The men were unimpressed.

“I fought at your side! I was helping you just now.”

“We didn’t need your help, and neither did we ask for it.”

“And yet you have it. Please, I want to make this right. Let me follow it-”

“Him.”

“What?”

“Him. The dragon. Not it. Him.”

Damen blinked. “Oh, well, alright. Him, then. Let me go and find him. He and I need to talk.”

 

 

***

 

 

The dragon lived in a cave. Of course it did.

Except the cave wasn’t big, more long and deep, and while there was evidence of inhabitation it was signs of men rather a beast. Many men, at that, and Damen realized that this was where the men who had fought with the dragon were living - hiding, as it seemed.

Since he had a horse Damen had arrived much faster at the cave than the rest of them after their leader had pointed him in the right direction, so now it seemed empty.

Blankets and makeshift cots were abandoned, fires burnt down to dull embers, armour racks - a strange sight between the rounded, ragged and untouched stone walls - bare like skeletons.

The thought of the dragon hiding in here was laughable. Convinced that this was a distraction, most likely to keep him from ever finding the wounded beast, Damen kicked at a dirty pot on the ground. It clanged against the wall. Damen turned to leave.

“Jord, you’re here,” a voice came from behind him. A familiar voice, Damen realized, even if it sounded much less composed than the last times he had heard it. “I need you to boil water, and find something to bandage--” Laurent froze the moment he saw Damen, who stared back.

The Mayor’s nephew was dressed in casual pants and a loose shirt that was not properly tied, but Damen’s attention was much more drawn to the red stains spreading slowly over the white, almost translucent fabric. Laurent stood straight now, but the moment before he had seen Damen he had walked hunched over, holding his bleeding shoulder. 

“What are you doing here?”

Damen barely registered the question. He couldn’t stop staring, mind whirling, mentally replaying the way the Mayor’s man had stabbed the dragon in the shoulder over and over.

It couldn’t be. There was no way this was a coincidence. Why else would Laurent be here? How could he have possibly be wounded in exactly this way, obviously only recently hurt? 

Damen took a step back. “You can’t be…” he whispered in shock.

Laurent’s jaw was clenched so hard the muscles in his cheeks jumped visibly, posture ramrod straight - a glance to his shoulder showed that the wound, while obviously fresh because of the blood, strangely looked almost healed.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to… to the dragon...”

“How did you know where to come?”

“Your men told me.”

Laurent’s eye narrowed, then he turned away abruptly, walking back into the depth of the cave.

For a  few seconds Damen watched the bare walls of the cave, then rushed after him. “Laurent, wait! I don’t understand! The dragon-- I saw it, it’s real, but how…”

“The Dragon of Vere,” Laurent said, having sat down on a cot that was close by a crackling fire, holding his shoulder subtly. “You must have heard of it before you even came here, before you got that letter. Vere has always had a dragon. Or dragons, depending who you ask.” His blue eyes reflected the flames, and for the first time Damen realized they were indeed the same colour as the dragon’s. “You know who’s also been in Vere for a long time? My family. You can date my ancestors back to Vere for generations. We were not always mayors, or even just important people in the town, but we were just that more often than not. We are not tied to Vere, not really, but it’s our home. We like to think of ourselves as its protectors.” Finally, his eyes lifted and met Damen’s again. “And we’re better at the protecting than others.”

“You’re dragons.”

“Yes. Or we can be, when we want to. When the situations requires it. When we want to fly. Auguste always said we should only turn when it was necessary. Many people know about the Dragon of Vere, but not many know about my family’s secret.”

“But then…” Damen frowned. “Why does someone want the dragon gone? And why is the Mayor allowing this? He’s your family-”

“He’s also the one who wants me dead.”

Damen was stunned, not knowing how to reply.

“My uncle cannot turn into a dragon. Some of us just can’t. He’s always been jealous, both because of his lacking blood and because it was my father, his brother, who became Mayor and not him. So he killed him and took his place. We… Auguste and I didn’t know. Uncle is smart, and he planted the idea in Auguste’s head that our father’s killer was foreign. So Auguste left. He used to write letters frequently but they’ve become less and less over the years… It’s almost impossible to reach him. A year ago I found out the truth. I tried reaching Auguste, but he never wrote back. I suspect Uncle is intercepting most, if not all of the letters. It must be how he found out that I knew. It’s why he wants me dead.”

Damen was reeling. He had trouble wrapping his mind around the tale of betrayal. What the Mayor had done was unthinkable. “I.. I can’t..”

“You don’t believe me?” Laurent said dryly, one brow raised in an expressive curve, the exact expression Damen had seen on the giant dragon’s face before.

“I do! I believe you. I just can’t… I’m sorry.”

“None of this is your fault.”

“No, but I cannot imagine… you are in a horrible position. But..” A question arose. “Why didn’t you leave? Can’t you just fly away?”

For a split second Damen could see a grimace form on Laurent’s face before it was expertly hidden.

“I could. But you saw what my uncle’s goons are doing to the people of Vere. They rob, they rape, they destroy and they beat and they get away with it because there is no-one opposing them.”

“No-one but you.”

“Yes.”

Damen gestured around the cave. “And this? Who are these men fighting with you?”

“The former, the _real_ Veretian city guard. Hired by my father and lead by Auguste. Uncle more or less chased them away when he became Mayor. It took me a long time to find them again and bring them here.”

“You look well-equipped.”

“It took months to get where we are now. We are almost ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“To take back Vere.”

 

 

***

 

 

Erasmus felt weird in between all the soldiers.

They weren’t rude or mean to him, they didn’t ignore him but also didn’t go out of their way for conversation or camaraderie. They were busy, of course - preparing armor, weapons, supplies and more, organising the entire group and getting ready for departure. Erasmus had done what he could to help and there hadn’t been any shyness about giving him work to do.

He had even given them his horse for transport after asking Ser Damen - who had immediately agreed and offered his horse as well, not caring that anyone else would likely have been offended at using such a finely bred stallion like a pack mule.

They had been wary of him at first, but Ser Damen, as per usual, hadn’t had much trouble winning them over with his natural charm and sincerity.

Then there was Laurent.

Erasmus didn’t talk to him much or saw him all that often, but when he did he watched him closely. Something was off there - and not just because of the way Ser Damen’s eyes lit up whenever he saw Laurent.

The men were all exceptionally loyal to him, for one. It was fascinating to watch men who were clearly experienced soldiers bowed to who was by all accounts a minor noble’s son and followed his every word as if it was the law.

True, there was something about Laurent - a natural authority, the way he calmly exuded superiority without making one feel less, a sureness and ease of confidence in his gait and the way he held himself. Erasmus felt safe around him, protected, but at the same time he wouldn’t want to turn his back.

They were on their way back to Vere now, alternating between walking and riding on the cart Ser Damen had helped dislodge from the mud a while ago.

After two days of travelling they finally saw Vere in the distance again. What they also saw was that the road was blocked. A barricade had been built behind which they could see men from the Mayor’s guards, as well as a whole bunch of mercenaries. Behind them, the town lay unusually quiet - people had probably been told to stay inside.

They halted the wagon and climbed outside, all of them in armed and in full armor. They came close enough to see the opposing men’s faces, but far enough away to easily dodge a thrown spear.

From behind the barricade the Mayor stepped forward, flanked by two of his guard.

“I wished the rumours were not true,” the Mayor said, shaking his head in regret. “When I heard that men who previously served Vere so well now come to stand against it I couldn’t believe it.”

“If they served Vere so well,” Laurent said and stepped forward from between his men. “Then why did you send them all away?”

“Laurent,” the Mayor frowned. “It saddens me to see you at the side of these brutes. Please, if you come now we can forget about this as the folly of youth.”

“You evaded my question.” Laurent spoke calmly. “A lack of reply can speak louder than denial. The brutes you hired to protect Vere are barely better than criminals - they have terrorized my people long enough. This will end, today.”

Again, the Mayor shook his head. “Oh Laurent, what have they done to you?” he said, the inflection of his voice speaking of pain. Erasmus shifted uncomfortably, but none of the men around him seemed disturbed.

“You cannot believe the lies these men are telling you. After all, they are in league with the dragon.”

 

 

***

 

 

It was only then that Damen understood this for the farce it was. He looked closely at Vere again, and this time he saw them. The city was not, as he had first thought, abandoned. He could see heads poking from behind corners, hiding between the houses and watching through windows that had been opened the tiniest fraction to appear closed.

“The dragon?” Damen knew this tone of Laurent’s well by now. He didn’t need to see his face to know how his eyebrows had crept upwards. “Why, uncle, don’t tell me you are afraid of the dragon of Vere? Isn’t he our protector, hasn’t he protected us for centuries?”

“Maybe once the dragon watched over our beloved town, but not anymore. It‘s sewing fear and terror in our citizens. It had even eaten several men. You must see reason that the beast is beyond sanity.”

“I do not believe protecting Vere and its people, killing murderers and scaring away bandits - that practically got invited here by you - to be unacceptable. I find fratricide to be much more so.”

The Mayor said nothing for a long minute. “Is this a confession?”

Laurent laughed. “A confession? No. It’s an accusation.”

“You accuse me of murder?” 

“You killed my father. You sent my brother away to never return. You tore power to yourself when reason was weakened by grief and you’ve been eating at Vere’s defenses from the inside ever since, turning it into nothing more than a shell.”

Now the Mayor laughed. “Laurent, what are you saying? I do not know where these wild tales come from, but they are figments of your imagination. You have no proof.”

“Who said anything about proof? Are you admitting that there is something to prove?”

“My dear boy… we can talk all day long and not come to a solution. Send these men away and come back home, and you can yell at me all you want.” Laurent didn’t move a muscle. “Ah, so you want to fight? You know those poor misguided people behind you will be slaughtered. Even if the dragon would come to your aid, we outnumber you by far.” The mercenaries behind him shifted, as did the men around Laurent. Damen drew his sword.

“Maybe. But even the greatest beast is aimless without its head.”

There was no clear signal from anyone, but it was clear that this was the beginning of the fight. Swords were raised, spears pulled back to be readied for throwing, muscles tensing as they began to run. With the mercenaries, the enemy outnumbered them more than two to one, but Damen was determined to make up numbers with ferocity.

Next to him, Laurent seemed to expand. He had not drawn his sword, and his armor wasn’t much to speak off either - a sturdy leather harness under a blue shirt, firm boots and braces on his arms. From the corner of his eye Damen didn’t see Laurent move at all, and yet he seemed to suddenly take up much more space than before.

Then there was the dragon.

He roared, drowning out shocked yelps, screams and gasping from the mercenaries. He was so big he barely even had to lunge forward to reach the barrier. His jaws were so mighty he could comfortably fit a man inside so when he snapped them shut over the Mayor and tore him from the ground, no arm or leg dangled from between his teeth like they often did in illustrations.

There wasn’t even a scream of pain or terror. One moment the Mayor was there, not even looking surprised as he turned to retreat from the battlefield - the next moment the air where he had been was empty and something cracked and crunched between the dragon’s jaws. Damen watched him swallow.

As the dragon - Laurent - roared again, his men advanced. Most of the mercenaries were too shocked to fight back and easy to overpower, and the few who didn’t - mostly part of the Mayor’s guard - were shown no mercy.

It barely took an hour and Vere was theirs.

 

 

***

 

 

The aftermath wasn’t what Erasmus expected. He expected resistance, fear, possibly death, but instead the people of Vere welcomed them with opened arms.

The families of the former city guard had known about their plan and readied the others for it, and while nobody wanted to get too close to the dragon, they knew him as their protector, both from legends and many of them from personal experience. So while no-one was keen on getting in close range, they didn’t seem too afraid or hostile.

The attitudes towards the Mayor’s guard were the opposite. They had not treated the civilians well, and in turn, now being at their mercy they didn’t receive any.

Erasmus stayed away from where the prisoners were kept. The days after the Mayor’s fall were busy and Erasmus spent them bustling around, carrying messages and helping with whatever Ser Damen needed.

The knight was often to be found in Laurent’s company, and while Erasmus believed he was there more out of his own doing than Laurent asking for help, he also noticed that Laurent didn’t seem to mind his presence at all.

Like before, in the big town house in Vere he slept in the servants’ quarters, having a little corner to himself. He did not mind that, and he certainly didn’t miss sleeping around the campfire, but as days passed he felt less and less like a knave. He liked to think that Ser Damen preferred if he fulfilled his orders rather than a random servant, but he couldn’t forget what the dragon had said, and the conversation with Ser Damen after.

Above all he missed Kallias. He had tried sending a letter, an endeavor Ser Damen had supported and encouraged so enthusiastically it had made Erasmus blush, but after a long week the letter had been returned unopened, with no reason as to why it hadn’t been delivered. At night, curled on his small cot while listening to the other servants sleep, Erasmus feared Kallias himself had rejected the letter and ordered it to be returned, not even bothering to open it as soon as he realized who had sent it.

Rationally he knew there were other reasons that made more sense - the messenger might not have been admitted into the gardens, or the overseers had sent it back, not allowing Kallias to receive mail, or maybe, horribly, Kallias wasn’t even in the gardens anymore. But somehow the thought of Kallias being out of his reach was even more painful than Kallias willfully rejecting him, so Erasmus liked to focus his spinning thoughts at night that made him unable to sleep to his lover’s change of heart.

Ser Damen noticed his change of mood, and when Erasmus showed him the returned letter he seemed troubled and expressed sincere sadness. He didn’t say much, though, frowning as he left.

The next day there were orders for preparing departure. Erasmus watched in confusion as servants prepared horses and packed bedrolls and supplies for travelling. When Erasmus saw one of them lead Ser Damen’s stallion away, he rushed to find the knight. Instead, he found Laurent.

He bowed quickly. “I saw the preparations. Where is Ser going?”

“He didn’t tell you yet, did he?” Laurent asked mildly. “You, he and I are going to travel to the Gardens and see if we can find out what happened to your partner.”

Erasmus was speechless. “But… Ser…”

“You served him well. But it’s not a service he needs. You should be happy and free to pursue your own luck - preferably in company of your Kallias, if I remember his name correctly. We hope it’s enough to reimburse you for your troubles and discomfort while serving Damen.”

“It was no trouble--”

“You were trained for it, yes, and Damen treated you well. But that doesn’t change that the practice is wrong.”

“Please accept this,” came a voice from behind Erasmus. Ser Damen stepped forward. “My ignorance doesn’t change the stress it must have caused you to be.. to anticipate my orders, my moods. I want to repay you by bringing you back to Kallias, and by freeing the both of you.”

“And possibly have a word or two with the overseers,” Laurent drawled, but his smile was kind.

Erasmus swallowed, and he buried his face in his hands to hide how he couldn’t stop smiling.

 

 

***

 

  
  
Only the three of them travelled south.

Ser Damen’s stallion took a liking to Laurent’s mare, but it only took one glance from the latter to get the horse to behave. Erasmus had no idea how Laurent did it but Ser Damen loudly suspected it to be part of the same magic that allowed Laurent to turn into a majestic beast the size of two houses at will. Laurent insisted he was just good with the animals.

The journey back to the gardens was a lot more relaxed than the travel to Vere, at least for Erasmus. He suspected that Ser Damen wasn’t quite as calm - the way he looked at Laurent was unmistakable, and Erasmus wasn’t entirely sure if he was aware of the glances Laurent sent back or not.

His own thoughts were occupied by Kallias. He couldn’t wait to see him again, to feel his arms around him, to muss up his brown curls and and feel the soft skin of his cheek against his own. He saw blue eyes every night before and after he fell asleep, though in his dreams they often turned away from his own, giving vivid imagery to the fears chasing his mind during the day.

When they reached the Gardens Erasmus felt like a bundle of nerves. They agreed that he should take Laurent’s coat and keep the hood up while staying at the back, not drawing attention to himself.

Ser Damen was the picture of confidence as he rode into the big open courtyard of the Gardens after being admitted inside. The overseer greeted him with a bow. “Ser Damen. You honor us by visiting again. I hope our Erasmus’s service is to your liking?” There was an edge to his voice.

“Erasmus is wonderful,” Damen said and quickly added. “I returned to ask about another knave named Kallias.”

The overseer blinked. “Kallias? He’s another of our prime subjects, but I do not see how he is relevant to you, Ser?”

“He is asking for my brother,” Laurent said and nudged his mare forward. Judging by the way his eyes widened, the overseer immediately knew who he was. “Who asked Damen in confidence about your trainees.”

“I see,” the overseer nodded, eyes shining. “While I am honored to hear our trainees come recommended, I regret to inform you that Kallias already found a knight to serve.”

Erasmus tensed, and only Laurent’s calm but sharp eyes that kept him from jumping forward and demanding to know Kallias’s whereabouts. “Who does he serve?”

“Oh, you must be pleased to heard this, Ser Damen. Our Kallias is in the service of your brother, Ser Kastor.”

 

 

***

 

 

Erasmus felt like a mess. He sat at the fire way from the Garden and stared into the flames, unable to tear his eyes away.  
A while ago, before darkness had set, Ser Damen and Laurent had whispered to each other somewhere close by. Maybe they had even talked normally, but Erasmus felt like a fog was surrounding him, damping everything around him.

Distantly he had noticed Laurent riding away, leaving him alone with Ser Damen. Or just Damen, as the knight kept reminding him. It was a hard habit to break, and as glad as thankful as Erasmus was for being freed of all duties, he wished he had a piece of armor to polish, a sword to sharpen of leather to oil, anything to keep at least his hands busy even though he supposed it wouldn’t have stop his mind from circling.

His stomach turned and he wrapped his arms tighter around himself. He didn’t want to think of Kallias, where he was, or what he was doing right now, but he couldn’t stop.

“Kastor isn’t a bad man,” Damen said quietly and Erasmus hunched his back. The lack of conviction in Damen’s voice was what he was worried about. “I haven’t talked to him in years but… please don’t worry. We will find them, and you and Kallias will soon be reunited.”

Erasmus would do anything to make that come true.

 

 

***

 

 

Finding Kastor, as it turned out, wasn’t a problem.

Getting to him even less so, especially when Laurent insisted they leave their horses at the gardens (and when they did so the overseers looked suspiciously pale, eyes wide whenever he looked at Laurent) and turned into a dragon in the middle of a nearby forest.

Damen tried to argue that mounting him was disrespectful. Laurent - raising a scaled brow - said could decide what was respectful or not towards him very well by himself, and carefully closed his clawed hand around Damen and deposited him on his back. Erasmus climbed on without protests.

Laurent flew them across the lands, staying close to the ground and to areas where few people lived - they didn’t want to have to deal with fearful people reporting dragon sightings and possibly sending out knights to investigate - and luckily last accounts of Kastor’s whereabouts weren’t far away.

After asking around they found him in a village at the coast that overlooked the sea from white cliffs. He was not staying in the inn as the owner there told them, but further up the cliffs in the ruins, where many villagers stayed during the summer because it was warm and beautiful.

The three of them walked to the ruins. They were picturesque, the white stone tinted orange and golden in the evening sun. Several fires had been lit, men women and children around them, chatting and making food.

Kastor’s brows shot up when he saw Damen and he downed his drink, then stood and met him halfway with open arms. “Brother! Your face is one I didn’t expect to see here.” He hugged Damen and clapped his shoulder, eyes wandering over Erasmus without recognition before narrowing on Laurent. “Are you here on a quest? I doubt you just came because of me.” He laughed. It wasn’t sincere.

Damen was tense and he forced himself to remain calm. “Actually, I’ve been searching for you.”

“Oh really.”

“It’s because of your knave.”

This time Kastor looked genuinely surprised. Then he laughed, a short and rough sound. “My knave? What of him?”

“I want you to free him.”

Kastor laughed again, this time longer, so hard and loud he doubled over and turned heads.

“Free him? From what? And why should I? He serves me now, I have need of him, and just getting one like him was a pain in the ass I wouldn’t want to repeat. Besides, I find him quite pleasing.” His grin was ugly and behind Damen Laurent put a hand on Erasmus’s shoulder.

Damen ground his teeth. Before he could say anything Laurent stepped forward. “Ser Kastor. I’m Laurent of Vere.” Again something flashed in Kastor’s eyes. Damen was fairly sure he and Laurent had never met before, and yet Kastor seemed to recognize him.

“Will you walk with me?” Laurent asked and Kastor’s eyes mellowed over, grin forming again as he offered Laurent his arm. Together they walked away. Soon they were out of sight.

 

 

***

 

 

The wait wasn’t pleasant.

Erasmus felt horrible. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Kallias had gone through, was going through, and his anxiety ate away at him even worse than the days before. He kept looking around, hoping to spot Kallias between the fires, but as it got darker and night set over the cliffs neither the light of the moon nor the glow of the flames reflected his lover’s blue eyes or brown curls.

Damen wasn’t of much help. When before he had done his best to soothe Erasmus and get his mind of things, the knight was now preoccupied by the thought of Laurent alone with his brother. After apologizing to him - for having lied about Kastor being a good man - he was mostly quiet, only leaving shortly to get them some food.

It could have been minutes or hours later when Damen suddenly jumped up, causing Erasmus to startle. He didn’t immediately see what Damen had spotted, but then he saw Laurent coming towards them, looking calm with not a hair out of place. He wasn’t alone, but the man walking beside him wasn’t Kastor.

“Kallias!” Erasmus cried out and stumbled to his feet, rushing towards Kallias who was meeting him halfway.

He sobbed as he finally held Kallias in his arms again, crushing him to his chest and feeling Kallias return the hug tightly.  
“I missed you so much,” he whispered and pressed his face against Kallias’s neck.

A kiss was pressed against his hair. “I missed you too,” Kallias replied . “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you came for me.”

“It wasn’t your fault!”

“No, but that doesn’t change that I feel bad about it.” Kallias’s smile was sad.

Erasmus leaned back to look at him, sad to see the bags under the other’s eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I am now.”

Erasmus pulled him back against his chest.

 

 

***

 

 

Damen told himself he wanted to give Erasmus and Kallias space, which was why he went straight to Laurent. “Are you well? He didn’t hurt you?”

Laurent looked unimpressed. “He and I just had a very nice chat,” he said mildly. “As you can see, no, he didn’t hurt me. Did you know our brothers know each other?”

Damen blinked, both at the change of topic and the direction the conversation had taken. “What?”

“Because they do. They haven’t seen each other in years, but as it turns out, Kastor used to help Auguste gain information. Information about who killed my father.”

“But I thought your uncle--”

“Yes. Funny that, because Kastor also knows my uncle. Has known him for longer than Auguste, in fact.”

The implications made Damen shift uncomfortably.

“Luckily, Kastor also remembered exactly what information he gave Auguste.”

“You think you can find him?”

“It’s a start.”

Damen looked over to where Erasmus and Kallias stood, heads close together. “What about them? We shouldn’t leave them behind on their own…”

“I already talked to Kallias on our way here. I told him they are welcome in Vere, and I will send a letter to Jord to expect them. And make no mistake - they are not helpless. I watched Erasmus make camps and set traps for game with ease, and I know for a fact that Kallias has a mean right hook.” How he knew that Damen would ask another time. “And who said anything about _us_ leaving them behind?” Laurent’s gaze was sharp.

Damen straightened and reached for Laurent’s hands. He rubbed his thumbs over Laurent’s knuckles, dark over light in the sparse flames and starshine around them. He looked up into Laurent’s eyes, that bright blue that seemed to glow unnaturally in the dark, reflecting the fire like a predator’s.

“I want to come with you,” Damen said. “I can think of no more noble quest that helping you find your brother. And even when you find him… I can think of no better place than by your side.”

Laurent looked down at their hands, then carefully shifted them so he held Damen’s in turn. It happened in a split second, but Damen saw him wet his lips, and when he spoke his voice seemed just the tiniest bit hoarse.

“Okay.”

  



End file.
